Over The Edge
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: Doc had slipped over the edge, they could all see that, but what happens when Kim and Carlos refuse to obey his crazed demands? An alternative ending to No More Forever. Rewritten. *Complete*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or any characters you can recognise.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**I have decided that I really didn't like how I'd written this fic, so here it is, completely rewritten. Please remember to review, even just a few words would be greatly appreciated. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Kim, Carlos, and Holly are standing around the kitchen at the firehouse, Doc is running late, and Kim is getting concerned.

"This is the latest he's ever been." Kim tells Holly as she continues to pace.

At this moment, Carlos hangs up the phone, and walks over to them as he says. "No answer, he's got to be on his way."

"You know, a cleansing breathe can be very refreshing this time of day." Holly tells Kim as she continues to put some fruit into a bag for them.

Shockingly, Kim pays no attention to her, and says. "You know the company's going to be back soon, and Steeper's going to be up in my ass for not being out of the house." She turns around to face them as she adds. "I don't have a full crew."

"Why don't you two guys go out, and I'll wait." Carlos suggests, trying to be helpful.

"No, I can't go out on the street until I know everyone's here. What's Steeper going to think of that?" Kim says questioningly, she's clearly stressed by the whole situation.

Always helpful, Carlos questions her sarcastically. "Which one of you is our boss?"

Kim looks at Carlos incredulously as she says. "He's a captain, Carlos. You want him reporting to downtown that I can't take care of a crew properly, so then he gets someone else to come in here?!" Upon seeing the smirk on his face, she questions him. "What?! You think this is so funny?"

"Would they do that?" Holly asks, concern in her voice.

Kim turns and walks away from them as she says. "You know what, I'm going to keep trying the numbers, you two go out together, try to go by his apartment, I mean maybe he's overslept, or can't hear the phone, or something."

* * *

Meanwhile, a cell phone goes unanswered.

* * *

Several minutes later, Kim is just hanging up the phone, apparently still no success when the company returns. She stands up, and walks hastily to her locker, trying to hide why she is still there, and simply the fact that she is still there.

But within a few seconds Steeper sees her, and in an irritated tone he says. "Something wrong?"

Kim turns to face him, and replies. "No sir."

Steeper is unrelenting. "What're you doing in here?"

"Doc's got a doctors appointment, I'm just waiting for him to get in." Plausible enough, but Steeper sees straight through it.

"He late?"

"No, no, no." Kim says a little too quickly, and then adds. "I knew about this."

"The duty roster has you partnered with Levine, and Doc with Nieto."

"Yeah, um, I forgot to update it when Doc told me about his appointment." Kim covers, and this time it seems to work.

"Sure everything's okay?"

"Yep." Kim says with much more confidence than she feels. "We'll be out of the house as soon as he gets here."

"Alright." Steeper agrees as he walks towards his office.

At this moment, Cruz enters the room, and asks Kim. "Is Parker around?"

"No, not yet." Kim tells her.

Steeper's attention has been caught by Cruz, and he questions her. "Who're you?"

Cruz turns around to face him, and says. "Er, Sergeant Cruz, I work-"

Steeper interrupts her by questioning. "PD?"

"Yeah." Cruz answers shortly.

"See a House Watch down there?"

"Well there was a guy down there in the office but he was on the phone so I just..." Cruz trails off slightly as she motions in the direction of the house watch, and that give Steeper the chance to interrupt again.

"Visitors must be announced at a firehouse."

"Yeah, well I just..." Cruz mumbles, caught off guard.

Steeper turns to Kim, and harshly asks her. "Did you people follow any rules before I came here?"

"Hey, look, it's not her fault. I just..." Cruz defends Kim quickly, it isn't her fault.

"You wanna talk to somebody, go downstairs, speak to the House Watch, and come back upstairs." Steeper tells Cruz.

Cruz then points out the obvious by saying. "But I'm already up here."

"Downstairs." Steeper orders, clearly he's not going to back down.

"You know what, I'll give Doc your message." Kim tells Cruz, trying to end the dispute.

It works, Cruz walks away.

But Steeper doesn't back down, telling Kim. "Rules are for a reason." As he looks at her pointedly.

"Yes sir."

"I will not have people wandering in and out of this house, not even PD. Understood?"

"Understood."

Steeper then begins to walk away, but as he does, he says. "Let me know as soon as Parker gets here."

Which prompts another "Yes sir." From Kim as she buries her face in her hands, and sighs wearily.

* * *

Awhile later, Kim, Steeper, and the rest of the engine company are in the kitchen making dinner when Steeper abruptly tells Kim. "Okay, call downtown, and get a replacement to ride along."

Kim stands firm. "But I told you this was approved."

"He isn't coming." Steeper says adamantly.

"All due respect captain, stay out of this, I can run my crew."

"You call that respect?" Steeper says disbelievingly.

Before Kim can respond DK interrupts them by asking a trivial question about the meal, and it works, Steeper is walking away, but then there is an announcement. "Hey, Parker's here."

Kim looks up at Steeper as she straightens some papers, and needlessly says. "He's here."

Steeper unhappily says. "Make it fast. You're an hour late getting out on the street already."

"Yeah, as soon as he changes." Kim says as she walks over to Doc. She then says to Doc. "Doc, listen-" She stops when she sees that he is in his dress uniform, and questions him with no idea of what is about to unfold. "Why're you in your blues?"

Doc simply tells her. "Hey Kimmy, listen I'm not going on the street today. Excuse me." Before continuing to walk towards the kitchen.

"Wait. Listen, Doc I need to talk with you, just..." Kim begins, but she stops abruptly when she sees the glint of a gun.

There is no chance for anyone to intervene as Doc fires a single round point blank into Steeper's abdomen.

The shock and even more so the surprise is clear on everyone's faces as they seek cover.

"Like I said, I'm not going on the street today."

Everyone except Kim backs away from Doc, and subsequently Steeper, except for Kim, who tries to make Doc see reason. "Doc-"

But Doc refuses to listen. "Stay where you are."

Kim spares a glance down at Steeper, who is lying on the floor, moaning in agony, and then she pleads to Doc. "Let me help him." It's not that she likes him, but still how can she stand back and watch him bleed to death on the floor.

Doc looks at his watch as he says. "Fifteen minutes." As though it makes all the sense in the world.  
"What?" Kim asks, confused.

"Fifteen minutes." Doc says again.

This time DK asks. "What're you talking about?"

Doc points the gun down at Steeper as he tells his coworkers. "When he closes this house the people in this community will have to wait at least 15 minutes for medical or fire response. See, I did the math, calculated the response times." He then turns to face Steeper, and says. "Isn't that how you do it, Jack? Huh. Reduce it to a workable number."

"Please." Steeper begs Doc.

But he doesn't listen, he just asks. "Everyone understand?"

Walsh steps forward, and tries to reason with Doc. "He's dying."

"Billy, just back up for a minute, okay?"

"No, Doc." Billy says, he can't just step back and watch this happen.

This throws Doc completely, they're meant to be on his side, they're meant to be grateful that he's doing all this for them. Why are they getting in the way of his plan?

And then another firefighter, Bobby walks into the room, and ends up staring down the barrel of Doc's gun. "What the hell's going on?!"

_Why can't they see the plan?! They just have to wait for fifteen minutes, and then they can treat him. Why is that so hard to do?!_

Kim attempts to calm Doc down with little to no success as he waves the gun around.

Then, pointing the gun directly at Bobby, Doc orders him. "Have a seat at the table." And he then demands to Kim. "Stay there."

"Doc, just let me help him, okay?" Kim pleads, hoping that she will eventually get through to Doc.

After waving the gun around, and forcing everyone away further, even Billy, who until that moment had stayed beside Kim, Doc tells Kim. "He doesn't listen Kim, so we gotta put it in terms he can understand." He says this as if it justifies shooting a man.

"All right, well, we're all listening, okay? We're all here. We're all listening. So why don't we just...just calm down, okay?"

"No, no, I'm calm, I told you I wasn't gonna let this house close."

"By letting a man die?" Kim questions him, he has to see reason.

Again, Doc just continues his mindless rant. "No, no, he doesn't have to die. All he has to do is see what 15 minutes feels like when you need help."

"I'm not closing the house." Steeper says weakly as Doc kneels beside him.

"No you won't." Doc agrees, but he then adds. "Because you'll know what it feels like to wait when you need help."

"You're crazy, Doc." Billy says. This has to stop.

_Why aren't they on my side?! This is going all wrong! _

"At least let me give him some fluids." Kim says, trying to move closer to Steeper, but being blocked by Doc.

"Kim...if we were out on the streets, who'd give him fluids? Huh? No one, because help wouldn't be here yet."

Before anyone can say anything, Steeper grabs Doc's pant leg, startling him enough that he fires another round into the air, narrowly missing several of them.

"Sit down! Everybody sit down!" Doc screams, waving the gun at them wildly.

Everyone complies, seeing that in his current frame of mind it's very possible that he will shoot them.

Just then, they hear foot steps on the stairs, and then Carlos call out. "He turn up yet?"

"Hey, where've you been?" Carlos asks Doc casually, not having realised what he's just walked in to.

"What're you doing here?" Doc questions Carlos. This is getting out of control, it was meant to be simple, just fifteen minutes, but they just don't understand.

It is now that Carlos sees Steeper lying on the floor bleeding, and then his glance goes to the gun in Doc's hand. "Doc? What's going on?" Carlos asks, inching closer to his partner cautiously.

"What're you doing here?" Doc repeats. Why can't they just leave him be? If anything they should be thanking him, helping him, he's doing this for them.

It is now that Carlos makes the mistake of kneeling down at Steeper's side in an attempt to help him.

Everyone jumps from their seats. Kim also goes to Steeper's side.

But before they can do anything, before anyone realises what is happening, Doc fires off three more rounds.

And all hell breaks loose.

DK and Walsh tackle Doc to the ground, and wrestle with him for the gun.

Everyone else hits the floor, and it isn't until DK has the gun, and Billy has Doc pinned face down on the ground that anyone takes a moment to survey their surroundings, and when they do, the first thing they see is Kim and Carlos lying over Steeper, a rapidly increasing pool of blood underneath the trio.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! And f****eel free to use the reviews to ask questions or suggest something.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or any characters you can recognise.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Here's the second chapter, e****njoy! **

* * *

Unbeknown to anyone, Holly was at the bottom of the stairs, and heard the gunshot, which sends her running towards the precinct.

* * *

At the precinct, Ty and Sully are standing at the desk, talking to Faith and Swersky when Holly runs up to them, and frantically tells them. "Help me, help me! I need help!"

Ty turns around, and takes a steadying hold of Holly by the arms as he asks. "Okay, what?"

"He was shooting, he's got a gun!" Holly crying, panic stricken.

Upon hearing this, Sully turns around also, and asks. "Who's got a gun?"

People start to gather, having heard the commotion, including Monroe and Cruz, who as soon as they hear the next words out of Holly's mouth can only exchange shocked glances, along with everyone else.

"Doc! Doc! Doc! He's shooting ...the firehouse. He's shooting."

* * *

Meanwhile in the firehouse, as soon as Doc was disarmed, DK and several other firefighters move to their fallen coworkers sides'.

DK takes the lead, and quickly assesses that Kim has been shot in the arm, and the back, and Carlos has been shot in the stomach, and Steeper has, from the look of it been hit a second time, this time in the head by one of the bullets that had already wounded Kim, he's dead.

"Oh my god." DK murmurs, surveying the horror before him. After a moment, DK snaps out of his shocked stupor, and orders the remaining available and uninjured members of the company to assist Kim and Carlos, while he grabs Kim's radio, which he realises would have been useful at the beginning of this, and says into it. "Central. There's been a shooting at 5-7 firehouse, we need police and medics, now!"

It is a moment before he hears the response. "PD and EMS are on their way. What's the situation?"

"Three of us have been shot, one's dead." DK informs them.

"Where is the shooter?"

DK looks over at where Walsh is holding Doc, and then tells the radio operator. "We got the gun away from him, he's under control."

"Okay. EMS and PD will be there soon." The radio operator assures DK before the transmission is ended.

As soon as DK has heard the radio operator's statement, he drops the radio, and kneels down beside Kim, who is fighting to stay conscious, and is obviously in a lot of pain.

"Help me, please Derek, please don't let me die." Kim pleads DK as she's gasping for breath.

DK pulls off his shirt, and presses it against the wound in Kim's chest, eliciting an agonized scream from Kim. "Oh god. I'm sorry, Kim, but I've gotta keep pressure on this. Just stay with me, stay with me, Kim."

Kim slips out of consciousness for a few seconds, but as she regains consciousness, feeling herself fading, dying, she weakly tells DK. "Please tell Joey, tell him I love him, and I'm so..."

"Damn it, Kim! Stay with me." DK shouts as he sees Kim take a final shuddering breath before she becomes deathly still.

As soon as DK has checked for her pulse, and found none, he begins CPR. There's no way he's letting his coworker, his friend's fiancé, a mother die.

* * *

Outside the firehouse, Swersky is coordinating the hostage rescue. By her own insistence, Holly is there, along with Ty, Sully, Faith, Cruz, and Monroe, who are gathered around Swersky as he begins giving out orders, but then a call comes over his radio. "Central to 5-5 lieutenant. Shooting in the 5-7 firehouse, suspect is disarmed, and being detained, police assistance needed. Multiple wounded. EMS assistance en-route."

"Damn it." Swersky mutters. He then orders them. "Sully, you and Davis go in and make the arrest. Faith, take Levine back to the precinct. Cruz, Monroe, help with wounded until the medics get here."

Everyone goes to follow orders, except for Holly, who starts to move towards the firehouse.

"What're you doing? Go back to the precinct." Swersky questions her, halting her in her tracks.

"No. They need help, and you know that I'm trained to give that better than any of you." Holly says firmly as she side steps him, and continues towards the firehouse at a run.

Swersky knows she's right, and lets her go.

* * *

When Holly walks into the firehouse, she is confronted by the bloody mess that is their main room. Steeper is lying dead on the kitchen floor, DK and another firefighter, Bobby are leaning over Kim, performing CPR in a desperate attempt to save her life, and another firefighter is keeping pressure on a wound in Carlos' stomach, comforting him as he writhes in pain.

"Oh god." Holly whispers in horror at the sight before her. She turns around to face Faith, who is right at her heels, and hands her the keys to the ambulance as she, being unusually abrupt says. "I need the bags, from the back, all of them."

Not needing to be told twice Faith runs back downstairs.

Holly then asks Monroe and Cruz. "I, um, need you to take over CPR. I'll be there as soon as I've assessed Carlos."

Cruz opens her mouth to complain at being ordered around, but Holly has already moved over to Carlos.

As Holly kneels down at Carlos' side, she gently asks him. "How're you doing there, Carlos?"

"...Hurts so much..." Carlos replies as he is gasping for breath.

"I'm going to take care of you, just hang in there." Holly reassures him before she moves to examine the gun shot wound in his stomach.

Just as she lifts his shirt to examine the wound, Faith puts the bags down at Holly's side, and asks. "Is there anything else I can do?"

Holly grabs two thick dressings out of one of the bags, and puts them against the entrance and exit wounds before telling Faith. "I need you to keep pressure on these."

"Okay." Faith agrees, taking Holly's place as Holly picks up the bags and goes over to where DK and Bobby are still doing CPR on Kim's lifeless body.

Holly moves the defibrillator close to Kim, and starts it charging as she asks DK. "Can you get the ambu bag out of my bags, and set it up?"

DK merely nods before moving away from Kim, leaving Bobby doing CPR by himself.

Once the defibrillator has charged, Holly tells Bobby. "You can stop now." As he is moving away, Holly cuts Kim's shirt down the front, and pulls it away, allowing her to press the defibrillator paddles against Kim's chest. She then shouts. "Clear." Before she triggers the paddles, and they deliver the electrical charge to Kim's body. She then looks up at the portable monitor.

Holly sighs with relief as she looks at the monitor, she then reassures DK and Bobby. "Okay, she's back. I'm going to intubate her. DK, can you hand me the laryngoscope?"

"This thing?" DK asks, Holly as she moves to Kim's head, and tilts Kim's head backwards to clear her airway, and prepare to intubate.

Holly looks up, and says. "Yeah, thanks." She takes the laryngoscope, and places it in Kim's mouth as she says. "Now I need a tube, size seven and a half, it's right there by your hand."

DK hands her the tube, and she adeptly inserts it. And then without even being asked, DK hands her the ambu bag, which she quickly attaches, and hands over to DK, who starts to rhythmically squeeze it.

"Thanks guys." Holly says gratefully, before getting back on task. "Now I need you to find a couple of bulky dressings, and a bandage. Put one dressing on the chest wound, use your hands to keep pressure on it, and put the other on her arm, and wrap the bandage around it tightly. We've got to stop this bleeding."

"Is she going to make it Levine?" DK asks, concerned.

"I don't know." Holly says sadly as she starts an IV, and starts squeezing fluids into Kim's body. "She really needs to be in an ER, now."

* * *

The ambulances arrive several minutes later, and Kim and Carlos are rushed to Mercy Hospital.

* * *

Half an hour after Kim and Carlos have been brought into the ER, and the rest of the team had been relegated to the waiting room, Jimmy arrives, with Joey in tow.

DK stands up, and crosses the room quickly to meet Jimmy, before he can say anything, Jimmy begins barraging him with questions. "What happened? Where's Kim? Is she alright?"

DK takes a deep breath, and motions to Holly to take Joey before he tells his friend. "Kim was shot, Jimmy. They've already taken her into surgery, it's bad." He doesn't tell Jimmy that he had spent ten minutes pounding on Kim's chest, trying to save her life.

Jimmy runs a hand through his hair, and glances over at where Joey is talking to Holly, before he brokenly whispers. "How bad?"

DK is hesitant, but after a moment, in a hushed voice to avoid Joey overhearing, he tells Jimmy. "She was shot in the arm, and the chest. The doctors say that the bullet hit a major artery, it did a lot of damage, and they don't know if she'll pull through."

Wordlessly, Jimmy makes his way over to the nearest chair, sits down, and buries his head in his hands. _How can this be happening? Who shot her?_

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or any characters you can recognise.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**E****njoy! **

* * *

After a moment, Jimmy looks to his friends, and asks. "Who shot her?"

They all exchange glances before Holly finally tells him. "Doc."

Jimmy's jaw practically hits the floor upon hearing this, surely he must've heard wrong, there's no way Doc would ever do such a thing.

They fall back into an awkward silence, all too aware of Joey sitting beside Holly, playing his gameboy, oblivious as to what is at stake.

* * *

It is another six hours before a doctor comes out to meet the large group, her scrubs are splattered with blood, Kim's blood. They all look up at her as she asks. "Is there family here for Kimberly Zambrano?"

Jimmy just raises his hand slightly in acknowledgement, and doesn't actually stand up until the surgeon is standing in front of him. He shakes her hand quickly as she introduces herself. "I'm Dr Sampson, I operated on Kimberly. May I ask who you are to her?"

"Ex-husband." Jimmy tells her before he asks. "How is she? They said she got shot, is she going to be alright?"

Dr Sampson pauses before informing him. "She sustained critical injuries, and it was very touch and go for a while, but I think she's going to pull through. She's definitely a fighter."

Jimmy collapses into the nearest chair, overcome with relief.

He barely even notices that the doctor is speaking to him, until she says. "You can come back, and sit with her if you'd like."

Jimmy nods quickly, and after going over to where Joey is sitting and hugging him tightly, he follows the doctor out of the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Carlos is sitting up in bed in the recovery unit, alongside Kim. His injuries were much less serious, apart from losing his spleen and part of his liver, he escaped unscathed.

He silently watches over his fallen partner, going over the event over and over again in his mind. Maybe if he'd done something differently, just maybe she wouldn't have gotten hurt.

* * *

As Jimmy enters the recovery unit, he sees Carlos sitting up in a bed, but doesn't even acknowledge him as his glance reaches Kim's unconscious form, too still, and much too pale in the bed beside him.

He goes to his ex-wife's side, and takes a seat beside the bed. As Jimmy takes hold of her clammy hand, he whispers to her. "I'm here, Kimmy. Everything's going to be okay." _Oh god. This is bad. Please don't let her die._

* * *

It isn't until early the next morning, long after everyone has gone home that Kim regains consciousness. She opens her eyes tiredly, and it doesn't take long for her to come to the realization that she's in hospital, and after a minute of feeling the steady throbbing pain in her chest and upper arm, she remembers what happened.

Too exhausted to do anything else, Kim lets her head loll to the side, and as she falls back to sleep, a lone tear slides down her cheek.

**

* * *

**

Epilogue

It is another six, long, difficult months of recovery marred by setbacks and complications before Kim returns to work at the firehouse. Carlos, Holly, and the rest of the squad greet her with open arms, but it doesn't escape her notice that despite what she's sure would've been their best efforts, there is still a large blood stained patch in the middle of the floor, a tragic reminder of the horror that took place in that very spot.

* * *

**The End.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! **


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